Bristol Farms

This place has the worst customer service of any grocery store I’ve ever been to. When your company mails out coupons, you should have that item in stock. Of the 4 May mailer coupons, only the first week was this store able to redeem my coupon. I tried to get banana bread, yet they ran out. And rather than offer me something comparable, they said sorry. Two weeks later I tried to get stuffed hamburgers. What did they say when there was none on display? «You can try and call corporate or call the store back, we’re not sure when we’ll get the next batch of mixing ingredients.» I called two days later to have no one pick up the phone.
The best part is I was driving home and passed by the store on Lincoln, near LMU, and said let me try and see if they have the burgers. There was one left on display, and I asked the butcher if they had any more. His reply was that he’d go make some up for me and asked if I could wait 4 minutes. I told him the story of how the Rosecrans store had been failing me and they said that their store was all about customer service. If you want to have a great experience and still shop at this chain, go to the one off of Lincoln.

My mom used to take me here when I was younger. We would go on a little walk, buy a few groceries, and enjoy some complimentary coffee samples and cheese! Occasionally they would have crackers to sample with the cheese… it’s the little things in life :-)
The store is beautiful, there are paintings in the wall and themed sections so you feel like you are out in the farmland. It’s a nice touch. I haven’t been to many other locations but I can tell you this one is pretty expansive. It even has it’s own café section so you can purchase their hot or cold meals to go and then eat it in their little café area.
A long time ago we went to a mother’s day brunch. I am not sure if that still goes on as this was 10+ years ago but it wasn’t too bad. I was younger so I remember not liking any of the food so I’m guessing it is not the best to take kids.
Why just 4 stars? As good as the food is, I think it is a little overpriced. The area this location is situated in gets a lot of ‘big spenders’ so they are definitely taking advantage of the situation. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to survive and this Bristol Farms has been here at least 20 years!

They offer excellent selections of high-​quality meats and seafood. Items that are hard to find at Whole Foods are available here. If they sold organic whole lactose-​free milk, then I would shop here more.

Don’t offer a promotion in which you give out free guacamole but you don’t stock enough for everyone. What a joke by management.

A great place to pick up a quick «build-​your-​own» lunch while at school.
I usually love packing lunches/​dinners if I have a long day of classes ahead but some days are so crazy that I can’t find the time to make my own meal at home. Yesterday was one of those days so in the evening my friend and I came over to Bristol Farms right next to our campus to pick up something small and quick.
I believe it’s $ 8.99 per/​lb for the cafeteria style section which was packed with all kinds of home made style meats, grains, and vegetables. Some of vegan options but not a LOT. They had an array of sauces and all kinds of healthy toppings which is always delightful to see. My total was around $ 6 which was quite decent for how fresh and delicious my meal was, but my portion was small.
This cafeteria is way smaller compared to the Whole Foods down the street which has so many more «hot meals» that are vegan and a larger salad bar, but Bristol Farms really satisfied me! I typically don’t like spending money out on school days but during desperate times when I don’t want something quick and greasy, I’ll probably be back to make my own fresh & healthy meal~

The customer service at the café was horrible. The wait its long so make sure you have patience. The food isnt prepared at the moment. The hispanic server is a disaster. The last time my boyfriend and i went there we even had to get up to get our on refill in water because the server decided to skip our table. Horrible manners! People like this shouldnt work in places like this.

After experiencing broken seals and parasite infested cod from other grocery stores.
I have never once had an issue with the food I’ve purchased from Bristol farms. The prices are a bit higher, but now I understand why, and am willing to pay the higher price for fish that isn’t contaminated and food that’s properly sealed.

Yaaay Bristol Farms for always having the best steaks and seafood… and terrific sales too. The produce is always impressive and that I can get Envy apples, tri-​colored carrots and orange cauliflower absolutely makes my day.
Copper River salmon season is just around the corner and I can’t wait. And in just a few more months I’ll be filling my cart with Hatch chilies. Glad this store isn’t just around the corner, I’d spend a small fortune filling my fridge everyday… which would probably mean I’d save money as eating out is sometimes far more expensive than cooking at home. And heck I could eat the best seafood and beef from Bristol everyday and probably still not meet my out to dinner budget, haha!
BF has the best, albeit tiny, floral department too. Located in front of the checkstands inside the store… lilacs are in season and if you have a keen sense of smell you can smell the subtle scent of lilac blooms as you approach the checkout. Orchids, belles of Ireland, loads of Tillandsia, succulents and on occasion you can find peonies, my fav. The arrangements and plants here are absolutely perfect hostess gifts.
Don’t miss the wine section… they have first growths behind lock and key, fun to look at and dream… one day I’ll have a few extra thousand dollars for a Lafite. Set your goals… and go for them. Soon Lafite, soon.

One word: POKE. They have a poke bar here, their poke is perfectly marinated and seasoned. Oh my goodness, their salmon is buttery. This is the perfect place to go to get your poke fix when there’s no good places nearby. The downside is that it’s super expensive at 16.99 per lb and there is no rice if you like your poke with some. Other than the poke and cheeses, I’m not a fan of Bristol because of the high prices and poor café customer service, I’ll frequent other places.

If you call this location asking if they have something, you can expect to be hold for 22 minutes and 36 seconds before your patience runs out.
At least two different people picked up the phone asking who/​what I was holding for before being put back on hold.
A handful of associates from the office had similar experiences in the past, but I thought they were all crazy. Sorry guys, should’ve listened to you.

Prices are a bit on the high side, it reminds me of Trader Joes but with more selections. The staff is kind and helpful all the time, I’ve been shopping here for almost 5 years! My favorite thing about this market is their options of organic food. For example, they carry my favorite Honest Ade tea drinks! Bristol Farms has a beautiful garden section as well with different types of plants and flowers. Their meat section is also awesome with friendly staff and fresh meats! I will continue to shop at my local Bristol Farms.

After my latest Bristol Farms adventure I have a whole new perception and opinion on their cost-​effectiveness. It’s true, some of their items are specialty foods, you go there to treat yourself or others. However, they also offer so many convenient things like pre-​bottled house brand marinades to help make a fabulous meal that will totally knock the socks off of your guests or family. So factor in the time saved to create a really amazing dish! What’s your time worth? Not to mention — they have a website that offers tons of date-​night/​in-​law worthy recipes to browse through!
After dreaming out loud in my last post, their webmaster Nicole was incredibly generous and sent me a gift card. I took the opportunity to create a meal that surpassed any levels of flavor and complexity that my family previously expected from me. To read the whole crazy story, check it out:

While prepping the meal I treated myself to their salmon and their spicy tuna poke, the new delicious Blue Bottle coffee and finished the meal with delicious beignets!
The next pasture I’ll wander through — their peach wine and cheese of the month club!

Received this reply from the store director recently:
«As far as the Café goes, I’m not sure where this rumor is coming from, but there is no plan to close down the Café or not keep it full service. Just like everything else, it may be time to update its look or offering but that is all.»
Latest rumor now is they plan to indeed retain the café with full service for breakfast and lunch but will be extending its hours and converting it to a «lounge» in the evening.
Will they serve cocktails?
There will be an extensive store remodel early next year that «may» include booths!
I hope this rumor will turn out to be the correct one. I suspect those emails that so many people sent when word got out about the planned café closing went all the way to the top corporate management. Perhaps they do take in to account customer preferences in some cases.

This is a cross between trader joe’s and whole foods without the crowds. I usually come here when I feel like trader joe’s is too crowded to enjoy. If you are anxious around crowds, but you still wanna shop somewhere organic the price difference is worth it.

UPDATED AS OF 11÷24÷15
Wow! 5 stars and above for Bristol farm’s amazing customer service.
In my previous review I mentioned I was unhappy with the quality of my mangosteens and Nicole, web tech master, immediately reached out and not only mentioned that she would talk to management and ensure future quality control, but she also offered a refund for the fruit.
I went to the store this morning and while I was unable to meet with the store director (he was in a meeting no fault on his part), I was able to get a refund from Debbie A. at the register. Debbie was extremely professional and warm. The refund was conducted quickly.
I understand exotic fruits are difficult to transport and I probably was just unlucky with a less-​than-​stellar package.
However I will say that every other purchase I’ve made at Bristol farms I’ve been extremely happy with.
I will be returning to shop at Bristol farms because I am so impressed by the level of customer service. You can tell they truly care about making sure your purchases are satisfactory. My hat goes off to the entire Bristol Farms team. Thank you.
OUTDATED REVIEW:
The customer service has always been nice.
I can’t fault this place for having high prices but that’s definitely why I shop more at trader joes/​Costco.
I only come here if I’m within walking distance and am time crunched.
Great cheese selection and I love their poke! Tons of flavors and you can pack the fish into containers. They charge by pound.
They have exotic fruits and I was so excited when I saw MANGOSTEENS!!! Oh such a beautiful fruit and taste. Texture of a soft peach, white fleshed, and tastes like a raspberry, mango, and watermelon had a baby. I loved eating these abroad but here in American they were $ 15 for FOUR fruits. And they were not sweet an mealy. I was so disappointed. Of course, I’ve never had a problem with their more conventional fruits so definitely shop here if you want… just don’t buy the mangosteens unless you want to throw the broken shards of your fruit dreams into the composter.

If you’re looking for the hard to find specialty items… look no more.
I actually come here for their «Irish Soda Bread» from the bakery dept. It is da bomb… try it, and tell me what you think.

Bristol Farms can be a bit pricey, but they are definitely worth it. The parking here is not the greatest since it is located in a big shopping center. The store is always clean and well stocked. Fresh meats, vegetables, prepared foods, and delectable desserts. My faves are the macaroons especially the ones dipped in chocolate, their chocolate chip cookies, and the incredibly moist carrot cake. They have prepared crab cakes you can fry up in pan or cook in the oven, they are worth every penny.

Just because the prices are high, doesn’t mean the freshness or quality of the food will be good. You can’t pay more but you can find equal quality or better at better prices.
This is compounded by the quality of the service. They use to have high quality sales help. These days the workers seem uninvolved, distant and uncaring.

I only want to write good reviews for places I LOVE on Unilocal,but had a really bad experience here today and I’m compelled to write my first one star review ever.
WHAT HAPPENED:
My boss, who has given 5 star review here before went in for some Poke and chips for us, usually amazing. We ate, an hour later, started feeling a lil funky, woozy. I thought, maybe bad Poke… it happens, no biggie. Unfortunately the chips were dated «sell by» about 5 days ago. Again, felt a little nauseous, but not a huge pet peeve of mine, and mistakes happen.
THE REASON IM GIVING 1 STAR:
When I took the chips back, and the poke, citing that I felt sick and the bag was sold to us after the sell by date, the worker/manager’s (who will remain nameless) reaction was defensive saying «its not an expiration date, its just a best before by». With no apology, or concern that 3 people were feeling sick bc of, probably, the food. He assured me the Poke is fresh every 2 hours as well. Again, no apology. Finally I asked for a refund, which I was given on a gift card. I asked where there were any antacids or something, and he just pointed me in the direction.
If I thought that my food possibly made several people sick, I would show concern, be apologetic, and overly accommodating. None of this happened. My boss even called and was told by the manager (who will remain nameless) that he (the manager) ate half a bag of the chips just now (even though there wasn’t that much left) and he feels fine… WHO DOES THAT?!
I already think Bristol is over priced but the food is good and it’s across the street, so why not. But I don’t pay for the attitude, defensiveness, or lack of concern for customers. One star for a poor attitude and poor customer service from this person.

Yeah its a little on the higher cost for things, but let me tell you… Their spicy tuna poke is the best poke I’ve had in South Bay (yes, it beats Jus Poke).
I buy it once a week and will buy some Bristol Farm Tortilla chips to scope it out on my lunch break.
I love that they have Peets Coffee too, if you ask them for organic milk, they’ll go get it from the milk section to use it.
Bristol Farms is more than just a supermarket, the café is convenient, the food selections are very good, and there’s never an issue with parking.